


Carlos' Internship

by mercurymoon7490195



Category: Portal (Video Game), Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Crossover, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-19
Updated: 2014-08-19
Packaged: 2018-02-13 19:21:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2162160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mercurymoon7490195/pseuds/mercurymoon7490195
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Night Vale Community Radio was not the only place where interning could be dangerous to ones health.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Carlos' Internship

“What’s taking you so long down there?” The quiet voice overhead drawled. “Haven’t given up, have we?”

“No,” Carlos panted. “Just catching my breath.”  The portal gun was heavy in his hand, every bone and muscle ached from running. He glanced up at the window overlooking the testing chamber, where the Aperture scientists stood, watching him intently. At the forefront of the pack sat Cave Johnson, hunched in a wheelchair and watching him unblinkingly. He stopped only to cough into a handkerchief, gesturing weakly towards the testing floor. 

The woman behind him nodded and leaned over towards the microphone. “Finish the test promptly, Mr. Mendoza,” she said sternly. “Mr. Johnson hasn’t got all day.”

Carlos nodded, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

_“Take the internship with Aperture_ ,” his friends had said.

" _It'll look good on your resume,_ " his professors said.

He had to wonder if some of them had just wanted him out of the way.

He straightened up, hoisting the portal gun onto his shoulder and taking a deep breath. He hurtled out into the testing chamber, taking cover as the sickly sweet voice of the turrets announced his presence, hailing it with a round of gunfire. Swearing, Carlos glanced around the room, quickly calculating and mapping the area. Several turrets guarded the button by the door, surrounded by dark gray walls. There was a cube on the other side of the acid-filled pit to his left; unguarded, easily reached.

He quickly shot a portal over the chasm and opened one below him, sending him tumbling through to the other side. The world reeled for a moment but he pushed past the sensation, grabbing the cube and hurrying back to the tiny corner of safety.

Just one more test chamber, he insisted, clutching the cube tightly as he caught his breath. Just one more, then they’ll have to let you stop.

He glanced around the corner, searching for just one white panel that would save him--

“Target acquired!”

He pulled his head back just in time to feel bullets rushing past his face, his heart hammering. Fear and adrenaline mixed with other emotions he couldn’t quite pinpoint, though one cut through them all like a flashlight through the void: Triumph.

He had caught a glimpse of white among the ceiling panels.

As soon as the turret’s tracking beam moved away he ducked out, aiming for only a split second before yanking the trigger back. He returned to the cube, smiling grimly as he peered down through the portal on the floor at the turrets below. He dragged the cube into position, calculating the best angle to take out the most turrets at once. With a quick glance up at the booth and a deep breath, his shoved the heavy cube through the portal and stood back, covering his ears as the cries of the turrets echoed through the chamber

After a few moments, the racket subsided, and he inched back towards the portal, peering gingerly over the edge.

One turret remained still standing.

Carlos’ fist clenched. “Fine,” he muttered. He held the portal gun tighter, bracing himself before leaping through the portal. The button sank under him, the door sliding open as he grabbed the turret from behind.

“Hey, put me down!”

“Sorry,” Carlos murmured, throwing it as far away from him as he could. Bullets started flying once more, ricocheting off the walls. He reached for the cube to try to pull it back onto the button, to make his escape.

He never saw the bullet, even afterwards. It grazed his shoulder, blood welling through the slash in his jumpsuit.  He staggered backwards, clutching his arm with a cry. The turret finally fell silent as he reeled back, leaning against the cube. Blood dripped through his fingers and splattered onto the blank tiles of the floor.

“Finish the test, Mr. Mendoza.” The woman repeated firmly, her hand tight on Mr. Johnson’s shoulder.

Carlos shook his head slightly. This was madness...no amount of resume prestige was worth this. He kicked the cube gingerly onto the button, slumping against it as the door opened.

“There,” he called out through the finally empty chamber. “Done.”

“Very good!” The woman chimed in. “We have a few more chambers we’d like you to--”

“What?” Carlos yelped incredulously.

The woman blinked. “I’m sorry,” she replied, speaking loudly and slowly. “We have. A few. More--”

“I heard you the first time!” Carlos retorted.

“Oh, good. I thought for a moment that your hearing had been damaged by that turret,” she replied coolly. “You’ve passed the test-test chambers, now that you know how this process works you’re ready to test the chambers with the conversion gel.”

“But I can’t just go on like this,” Carlos gestured to his arm. “Just give me a rest, can’t I finish the rest tomorrow? Or later today? Or just put me on a different project, I swear I’ll do better on something else.”

“What is he saying?!” Cave Johnson learned forward, eyebrows knitting together. “He doesn’t--Carolyn give me the mic, for Pete’s sake--Now you listen here, buster!” The man clambered to his feet, leaning heavily on the window sill. “When I started this damn place we had better men than you running through our test chambers, and did we hear any of them complaining?! No we did not! We didn’t stand for any of this wishy-washy ‘fraidy cat bullcrap! We did science! Real Science!”

“Sir, I live for science, but--”

“But what?! You think you’re too damn good for our science, do ya?! We’re not paying you to stand around giving us lip, son!”

“You’re not paying me at all!” Carlos yelled back. “Sir, please, just put me on something else, I promise I’ll--”

“SOMETHING ELSE?!” Cave roared. “YOU WANT SOMETHING ELSE?! HOW ABOUT WE TAKE YOUR LUNGS AND SWITCH 'EM OUT WITH MINE, HUH? HOW ABOUT WE TEST  _ **THAT!**_ ” He fell back, coughing violently into his handkerchief.

“Sir, please,” Carolyn pleaded, taking the microphone from him. “Go and rest, I’ll take care--.” She glared down at Carlos, motioning to the scientists behind her. The mic clicked and the room went eerily silent. Carlos stood, watching the figures move one by one away from the window.

_Run!_  A tiny voice screamed in the back of his mind. _What the hell do you think you’re doing, you have to get out of here!_

But he found his feet frozen to the floor. He knew he should run, should put this place behind him as fast as he could but could do nothing but watch, as a panel shifted to his left and Carolyn stepped onto the testing floor.

“This way,” she said, grabbing his good arm and marching him towards the elevator. Carlos stumbled a little as he followed behind her, wincing at her vice-like grip.

As the door slid shut behind them he pulled away, leaning against the handlebar. “Ma’am, I am sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to cause--

“Oh it’s fine,” Carolyn remarked dryly. “You’re not the first intern to complain about the employee testing initiative, and I’m sure you won’t be the last.” The hint of a smile slithered across her face “I wouldn’t worry about it. Those people still made contributions to science...in their own special way. Just as I'm sure you will.”

Carlos shivered, closing his eyes. It was too late to hope this wasn’t a dream. He tried to come up with a plan, how he could burst out of the elevator and run until he reached the surface; but his mind stayed terrifyingly blank except for one thing: He had blown it.

All his hard work, everything he had done to get himself into the best science programs universities could offer, all washed down the drain in a single moment of frustration.

The elevator slid to a stop, the doors opening upon a darkened room. Carolyn pulled him inside, through the musty air. “We had abandoned this project for awhile, but you know? We’re going to reinstate it. Just for you.” She crossed the room to a computer, fingers clicking quickly across the keyboard.

A portal opened, showering the tiny room with a burst of blue light. Carlos’s hands flew up to his eyes, temporarily blinded. He stumbled towards it, blinking as his vision adjusted to the glow. The inside of the portal did not show a different angle of the room, or any room for that matter. Inside the glowing ring was nothing more than a dark, swirling mist. It spilled out into the room, pooling around their ankles as Carlos approached cautiously.

“Ma’am?”  He said cautiously. “Where--”

“Stand here please,” she interrupted, pointing to the bright blue X on the floor without looking up from the computer. “Quickly.” She smiled grimly as she typed. “This portal leads to a parallel dimension. A little bit in the future, too. Call it our special gift to you.” She flicked a switch and turned. “You’ll be retrieving a very special package from our team of scientists there…bring it back in one piece and you’ll be free to go.”

“Just like that?” Carlos said warily. “I thought the internship was for another six months?”

“It was. That deal went off the table the moment you refused to continue the testing.” She glanced back at him. “But it could be worse. We could have done what Mr. Johnson suggested and done a lung transplant. Or you could have been the first human to have your consciousness downloaded into a computer...but luckily for you, that technology isn’t quite ready for testing.” She turned away, her face darkening. “Yet.” She sighed, just slightly, and gestured towards the portal. “I think this is the best solution for all of us.”

Carlos nodded numbly. “I guess so.” He hung his head. “So will they meet me at the portal to get this package?”

“No idea.” Carolyn said, her finger hovering over a large red button. “But if you survive the drop, I’m sure they’ll find you somewhere.”

Fear swooped through his stomach. “How much of a chance is there that I won’t?!”

“Only about seventy-five percent.. But you know, that’s still better than a full hundred, right?” She pressed the button. “Goodbye Mr. Mendoza. It’s been a real treat. We don't get that many interns with a backbone these days, it’s such a shame.”

Carlos turned to run but the portal was quicker, sweeping him up in a blast of suction and pulling him through. He had just enough time to take a quick gasp of air before he was pulled into the dark mist, and all went black.

~~~

“Looks like he’s coming around.” He felt a hand on his shoulder, saw a concerned face swimming above him, studying him cautiously. “Hey buddy, can you hear me?”

Carlos groaned, nodding. A dull, throbbing ache coursed through his body, creeping through every nerve and neuron. He tried to creeping into every sit up, but it only made the van around him spin sickeningly above him, a sharp pain shooting up his shoulder.

"Best not to try that just yet," The the woman leaning over him said, brushing her hair out of her eyes. "Just take it easy, we're trying to keep this a vomit-free vehicle here."

Carlos closed his eyes, falling back onto the makeshift pillow behind him. "What...happened?"

"Well, it’s a pretty sound hypothesis that a portal opened up in the side of a mesa and spit you out in the middle of the desert, right near our camp. You're actually pretty damn lucky," She said, pressing a water bottle into his hand. "One because I don’t think you actually broke anything, and two because we were just about to break camp and take our studies somewhere else."

"Six months living in a van is too long," A second voice said, muttering darkly from to driver's seat.  

"Precisely." She smiled. "I'm Rachelle,  by the way. That's Dave in the drivers seat--"

"Yo," Dave flashed him a grin in the rear-view mirror "Looks like portal technology hasn't exactly improved on its landings since we were there, huh?"

Carlos frowned. “How did you--”

Rachelle laughed. “You’re looking at half of what’s left of Aperture Science’s Interdimensional Portal Research and Development Team. The other three already went ahead to square everything away for our arrival in town. Also you still have the logo on your jumpsuit.”

Carlos cracked a smile. “I suppose I walked into that one.” He took a shaky sip of water as he stared up at the van ceiling, the world around him slowly sharpening back to normal. “I thought…” he said quietly, smile fading. “I thought interning for the Aperture Science would be a lot different.”

“Everyone does,” Dave said gently. “Best not to dwell on it.”

“It’s not all bad,” Rachelle added. “There’s so much more to science than what Aperture does--”

Carlos frowned. “Wait. You’re the research and development team for the portal that brought me here...you probably came here via a similar portal, correct?”

“Yep. We were testing whether whether large items could go through the portal and make it to the other side intact; it was a pretty routine test until the portal closed behind us. Someone disabled the controls that we had on our end and, well...here we are.”

“But couldn’t you just replicate your work out here? If you still have all the data--”

“Half the data’s back in the lab.” Rachelle interrupted. “Don’t think we haven’t tried everything to get back to where we came from…” she stopped as Carlos’ expression darkened, his eyes turning to the sandy floor of the van.

“So my family...my friends...I’ll never see them again?”

Rachelle shook her head. “A scientist never says never, buddy. That’s rule number one.”

“Yeah…” Carlos rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. “I suppose you’re right.” He sat up slowly, the van around him steadying itself after a moment. “I’m, er, Carlos, by the way.” He held out his hand. “Guess I should thank you for rescuing me.”

“Any time!” Rachelle said. “Us Aperture Science people gotta stick together, don’t we?” She patted him gently on the shoulder before clambering into the passenger seat. “I think you’re gonna like where we’re going. Night Vale’s a pretty interesting place, from what we’ve seen. Might even be the most scientifically interesting place in the whole country!”

“The whole world, maybe,” Dave added, checking a flickering device duct taped to the dashboard. “We should be there in about twenty minutes.”

Carlos glanced out towards the sun bleached desert flying past the window. “The most scientifically interesting place, huh.” He grinned. “I  _do_  like the sound of that.”


End file.
